The cave entrance, which they had imagined would be easy to dig open, had yet to show any sign of progress even by the fourth day.
By then, Bai Jinshu had spent two whole days without rest, standing watch at the entrance. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, hadn’t left the site since the first day.
No one had expected this cave to be so difficult to excavate.
When Bai Jinshu was younger, he had been warned that these caves were prone to collapse and that he shouldn’t explore them casually. However, for many years, there had been no significant rockfalls. Who could have predicted that this particular cave would continuously cave in, with every foot they dug out being replaced by two feet of rubble? The work was nearly impossible to maintain. As a result, Qin Feng had even brought in skilled craftsmen experienced in mountain excavation to assist the disciples of Renwang Sect in the digging.
But even with their help, by the fourth day, there was still no sign that they were anywhere near breaking through.
No matter how skilled a martial artist or how strong-willed someone might be, how long could they survive without water? Bai Jinshu didn’t dare to imagine the condition Ye Lihen might be in within that cave, and he was too afraid to help with the digging, fearing that his trembling hands might only slow things down.
On the other side, Jiang Cheng also hadn’t stepped in to assist; his mind seemed lost in a daze, wandering through unknown thoughts, as he spent his days staring blankly at the busy workers at the cave entrance.
That day, Mo Feixiao, who had been missing for some time, suddenly appeared at the back of the mountain. He went straight to Bai Jinshu.
“Senior Brother, I need to talk to you and Third Martial Uncle. You should come with me.”
Bai Jinshu had no energy to listen to anyone speak. Exhausted, he dismissed his fifth junior brother, “Feixiao, now’s not the time.”
But Mo Feixiao wouldn’t take no for an answer. His expression was unusually serious as he looked at Bai Jinshu. “I believe this is important, Senior Brother. It’s about Ye Lihen.”
If Bai Jinshu’s emotions had been like a still pool of water at that moment, then the mention of Ye Lihen’s name stirred it into chaos.
“What is it?” he immediately asked instinctively.
Mo Feixiao didn’t answer right away. He quietly led Bai Jinshu to where Jiang Cheng was standing. Before either Jiang Cheng or Bai Jinshu could speak, Mo Feixiao began his story. “Earlier, I made a bet with Young Hero Ye—or rather, he sought me out for a bet. He wagered that within three days, someone would visit Renwang Sect and question his identity.”
Bai Jinshu felt a stir in his heart. Ye Lihen had predicted this development? But how could that be? There was no way he could have conspired with Chen Chuanyang to expose himself, and if it wasn’t a conspiracy, how could he have known about Chen Chuanyang?
“I’ve lost bets to him so many times that I couldn’t just let this one go when he had no reasonable way to win, so I accepted his strange and troublesome wager.”
“What was the wager?” Jiang Cheng, who hadn’t paid much attention at first, became increasingly intrigued by Mo Feixiao’s story as it unfolded. Now, he focused on asking the question.
Mo Feixiao quickly answered, “He said that if I lost, I’d have to investigate that visitor. He bet that the visitor would either have ties to the Lin family or that their family members had gone missing.”
“And the result?”
This time, it was Bai Jinshu who asked urgently. He wasn’t surprised that Junior Lin’s Lin family had come up, as he had already begun to piece things together in his mind.
“The result,” Mo Feixiao said seriously, “is that Chen Daxia’s wife and daughter have indeed disappeared. I secretly asked around his household, and it seems they were kidnapped.”
If someone’s wife and daughter were kidnapped, how could they remain calm and instead visit Renwang Sect’s leader?
Bai Jinshu felt that the truth was now staring him in the face, but all he could see was darkness, and he didn’t have the courage to look any further.
Mo Feixiao sighed and continued, “Since I lost the bet, I’m here to fulfill my end of the bargain. Young Hero Ye asked me to relay this message and urged you to investigate the Lin family in Chang’an.”
If someone’s wife and daughter were kidnapped, how could they remain calm and instead visit Renwang Sect’s leader?
—Unless the person who kidnapped them had coerced him into coming to Renwang Sect to falsely accuse Ye Lihen.
Bai Jinshu didn’t want to think this way, but if he could doubt Ye Lihen, how could he not doubt the Lin family?
The person trying to frame Ye Lihen was from the Lin family, and with that realization, everything began to make sense.
Not only was this a case of false accusations, but it was also the Lin family that had tried to kill Ye Lihen to silence him. When several attempts failed, they resorted to planting doubt within Renwang Sect about Ye Lihen’s identity, so they wouldn’t have to worry about him revealing anything that could implicate them.
As for what the Lin family feared Ye Lihen would reveal, it had to do with what Lin Ling’s father had asked Ye Lihen in front of Jiang Cheng.
“This Young Hero Ye has infiltrated the enemy camp—surely, he has some leads?”
At the time, someone had tried to kill Bai Jinshu. Based on their techniques, Bai Jinshu had deduced that they were from the Huolian Sect. Similarly, Ye Lihen, who had fought them, would naturally recognize their martial arts as well. Being a member of Huolian Sect, Ye Lihen knew that those people were not part of his sect, which only made him more determined to uncover their true identities. Later, he used his special incense to track down the assassins but was ambushed and injured. With no one else to turn to, Ye Lihen had to seek out Bai Jinshu. After Bai Jinshu took him to the Lin family, Ye Lihen realized that the place where he had found the assassins was none other than the Lin family’s residence. He didn’t immediately tell Bai Jinshu because he knew how close Bai Jinshu was to Lin Ling. He understood that if he recklessly revealed the truth, Bai Jinshu was more likely to believe his junior sister over him. Still, Ye Lihen had tested Bai Jinshu, subtly hinting at his suspicions about Lin Ling. Bai Jinshu, without hesitation, had made it clear that he would never doubt her, which led Ye Lihen to keep quiet.
Ye Lihen hadn’t told Bai Jinshu that the Lin family was behind the attempts on their lives, but he knew it in his heart. He also knew that the Lin family had recognized him. That’s why he deliberately tried to mislead them, hoping that they wouldn’t take further action. However, he also knew that the Lin family might decide to eliminate both him and Bai Jinshu to prevent him from speaking out.
In the end, his suspicion was confirmed: the Lin family didn’t act because Jiang Cheng, the Wulin Alliance Leader, was staying with them.
When Bai Jinshu had brought Ye Lihen to meet with Jiang Cheng and Lin Congyuan, Lin Congyuan must have been worried. He had pretended to question Ye Lihen about the assassins, but Ye Lihen had deduced that even Bai Jinshu trusted Lin Ling over him. So, he purposely claimed that he couldn’t recognize the location, hoping to make Lin Congyuan lower his guard. Still, Ye Lihen was cautious, fearing that Lin Congyuan might try to silence him, which is why he volunteered to accompany Jiang Cheng. Of course, considering the likely father-son relationship between Jiang Cheng and Ye Lihen, there were other reasons why Ye Lihen wanted to stay close to Jiang Cheng—but one thing was certain: Ye Lihen had no intention of approaching the Wulin Alliance Leader as a Huolian Sect member to carry out any nefarious plans.
Even then, Lin Congyuan didn’t give up on his plan to eliminate Ye Lihen. He arranged for the inn to be set on fire, hoping to lure Ye Lihen away and have him killed. Ye Lihen had anticipated this and could have avoided the assassination attempt safely, but he risked his life to capture one of the Lin family’s assassins alive. He was worried—if Lin Congyuan was trying to frame Huolian Sect for the attack on Bai Jinshu, could it be that many of the so-called atrocities attributed to Huolian Sect over the years were also fabricated? If Lin Congyuan was trying to instigate a conflict between the righteous sects and Huolian Sect to weaken both sides, exposing the Lin family’s actions was crucial with the Wulin assembly on the horizon. Knowing that Bai Jinshu wouldn’t believe him without concrete evidence, Ye Lihen had gone to great lengths to capture that assassin.
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